[Kabar-Irian] News: July 6-7 2006
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July 6 - July 7 2006
KABAR IRIAN NEWS
TOPICS
* Washed-up bodies raise PNG health fears
* RI-Australia ties need a vision
* Different societies, shared futures
* Papuan separatist leader calls for Intl. help
* Indonesia relations take positive step
* Netherlands Funds Contribution to MDGs Implementation in Papua and West
Irian Jaya
* Papua shooting suspects want trial in Timika
---
http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/Washedup-bodies-raise-PNG-health-fears/2006/07/06/1152158268621.html
Washed-up bodies raise PNG health fears
July 6, 2006 - 2:45PM
Villagers on a remote PNG coastline are looking for more bodies, after
finding eight badly decomposed corpses last week
washed up on beaches just north of Australia's border in the Torres Strait.
Local people near and around the Fly River Delta fear if there are more
bodies they might be eaten by fish and game animals,
contaminating food sources for their villages.
"They fear fish might eat the bodies then they might eat the fish and die.
They fear the same thing if they eat a pig that
has fed on the bodies," Western Province police commander Inspector Mark
Yangen told AAP on Thursday from the provincial
capital Daru.
The badly decomposed bodies of seven men and a woman, some ravaged by
sharks, were last week buried behind the beaches where
they washed up near the villages of Sui and Davare on the Fly River Delta.
PNG police said they did not know the identities or nationalities of the
eight, but say they may have been boat people or
illegal fishers whose boat capsized and more bodies may yet be found.
Yangen said villagers have asked for police assistance to search for more
bodies. But police lacked time and funding to
return to the area after a police team visited the area last week.
"We have a lot of illegal activities taking place, we can't always get
there to assist," he said.
Other bodies may still be out at sea or may have washed up elsewhere along
the coast if it was a boating mishap, Yangen said.
He expected villagers to report to police if they found further bodies.
The eight bodies found were naked with little to identify them, he said.
"They could have been Chinese, Malaysian, Indonesian or Cambodian, it was
hard to say, they were so decomposed."
A spokeswoman for the Australian Customs Service, which covers coastwatch
activities in the Torres Strait, said Customs had
no information on the identities of the bodies or how they ended up on the
PNG coast.
They were washed up in PNG waters so the matter was being handled by PNG
authorities, she said.
PNG's Police Commissioner Sam Inguba has directed the trans-national crime
unit to investigate and try to determine where the
eight people came from and how they ended up dead on the beaches.
Last month a group of 11 Thais and Cambodians were deported from PNG after
being picked up in Western Province after entering
from Indonesian Papua on a fishing vessel without visas and passports.
© 2006 AAP
---
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaileditorial.asp?fileid=20060706.F05&irec=4
RI-Australia ties need a vision
S.P. Seth, Sydney
Having reached a high during President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's
successful state visit to Australia soon after the tsunami
disaster struck Aceh, Indonesia-Australia bilateral relationship has been
under considerable strain lately. The immediate
cause was Canberra's decision to grant asylum to 42 Papuans in Australia.
John Howard's recent visit to Indonesia was
designed to put the relationship back on track.
On the face of it, it is back to normal business. But it lacks the fervor
and spark of a durable and sustainable
relationship. Indeed, Susilo had cautioned against the euphoria of a new
beginning in Australia-Indonesia relations when he
was visiting Australia. He said at the time, "We know from experience our
relations are so complex and unique, that (they)
can be pulled in so many different directions and it can go right as often
as it can go wrong, which is why we have to handle
it with the greatest care and counsel."
Any relationship between Indonesia and Australia will need to be one of
mutual convenience. Which, by its very nature, is of
a shifting nature. It seems to preclude any substantive ties between
people of the two countries, because they are so
different.
It is a very dismal picture of a relationship devoid of common human links
which we all share irrespective of our culture and
ethnicity or whatever. Indeed, cultural and ethnic "fits" are no guarantee
of friendly and peaceful relations. One only has
to look at the two world wars which started in Europe between people with
so much in common by way of religion, race and
other links.
Australia and Indonesia need to create a broad shared vision of their
relationship. For this, people-to-people contacts and
exchanges are very important, because they tend to shed ignorance and
prejudice. And there is a lot of that between Australia
and Indonesia.
At present there is much emphasis on fighting terrorism. But, even on
that, Australia is not happy over the lenient treatment
of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir who was released after serving a prison term, as
provided under Indonesian legal processes. Canberra
wanted him locked up for a longer period.
Apparently for internal political reasons of appearing tough, John Howard
sent a terse missive to Susilo requiring strong
follow up action against Ba'asyir to freeze his assets, restrict his
movements and so on. Its hectoring tone was frowned upon
in Jakarta, with Susilo already not amused over being ignored in the
matter of the Papuan asylum seekers when he gave
personal assurance about their safety on return.
This almost derailed the projected meeting between Susilo and Howard. But
wiser counsels prevailed and the two leaders met to
put relations back on track, though agreeing to disagree on some minor
details.
However, Canberra's need to appear tough lest it creates a political
backlash back home is likely to plague the bilateral
relationship. (Susilo has his own internal political compulsions, but they
are of a different nature). A sample of Australian
sensitivity is reflected in this letter in the Australian newspaper.
It reads, "Why has Indonesia not condemned and denounced the views of
Ba'asyir, who condones terrorism in the name of
Islam?... (By not doing so) It's indirectly complicit in allowing
terrorist organizations such as Jamaah Islamiyah to survive
and flourish."
Therefore: "Appeasement of Indonesia can only contribute to a growing
imbalance in the bilateral relationship where Indonesia
gets what it wants and continues to allow terrorists to promote violence
and preach their views of hate."
In other words, even Indonesia's credentials to combat terrorism are not
always above board.
Indonesia is seen to be somehow lacking in Australia's higher values and
institutional rectitude and probity. Hence, the
arrogant-sounding tone to make them understand what is required of them.
It is not enough for Indonesia to say that they have
followed their due processes of law against Ba'asyir because they are so
deficient by 'our' standards. But, as of now, this
will have to do to make the relationship work.
At home, John Howard is on the defensive on the proposed new law to keep
any future Papuan asylum seekers (and others
arriving by boat) from landing in Australia. They will be detained in
offshore places like Nauru and, for most part, will not
be allowed into Australia even if they were found to be genuine refugees.
If Papua separatism were to get worse, with stories of human rights
violations, repression and boat refugees heading in
Australia's direction, it is likely to create problems for
Australia-Indonesia relations. At the government level, Canberra
has given all the assurances of respecting Indonesia's sovereignty and
territorial integrity in Papua, but the public opinion
in Australia can be tricky.
As happened with East Timor where Australia had accepted Indonesian
sovereignty over many years, the public opinion in
Australia and its internal political dynamics brought about a swift change
after the Asian economic crisis and Soeharto's
fall. This is what seems to worry Indonesians that any amount of
Australian assurances on Papua might prove meaningless in a
time of internal political and economic crisis in their country with
Canberra changing its colors.
But here, the onus is on Indonesia to sort out its internal problems in
Papua. Like East Timor which remained a troubled
region for about a quarter of a century, Jakarta cannot afford to let
Papua continue as a festering sore. An internal
solution based on some level of genuine autonomy might be the way out.
The writer is a freelance writer based in Sydney and can be reached at
SushilPSeth@aol.com.
---
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaileditorial.asp?fileid=20060706.F04&irec=3
Different societies, shared futures
Ali Alatas, Jakarta
We all seem to agree that the relationship between Australia and Indonesia
is complex, brittle and historically a fluctuating
one. It is a relationship between two close neighbors but two very
different societies. We also seem to concur, that
relations at the government level, and certainly at the
heads-of-government level, are now better than they have been for
years. At the same time, however, it is to be noted with regret that in
people-to-people relations, public perceptions and
understanding about one another continue to be plagued with
misunderstandings, prejudice and preconceived notions, especially
in some sections of the media, the legislature and civil society on both
sides. Too often some politicians have resorted to
stereotyping, oversimplification, exaggeration and intemperate statements.
It is clear, that we will need continuing and special efforts to overcome
this "gap" between government-to-government and
people-to-people relations. Here I would sound a note of warning: We
should never underestimate the degree of sensitiveness
that still affects our relationship and we should guard against the notion
that the present state of our relationship could
be overcome by a few summit meetings, no matter how well intentioned.
Managing that relationship and sustaining its strength
will always be a delicate process, requiring sensitive and sensible
diplomacy on the part of both governments, constructive
interaction between our two peoples and the constant development of
concrete, cooperative ventures in as many fields as
possible.
This reminds me of a similar situation we faced in 1988-1989, when then
Foreign Minister Gareth Evans and I agreed that while
acknowledging that differences in views on certain issues may continue to
bedevil our relations, we should not allow any
single issue to dominate our bilateral relations as a whole. We further
agreed that it was time to stop fussing about the
Indonesian-Australian relationship as such, as if it were a patient of
precarious health, constantly needing the worried
attention of diplomatic doctors.
Instead, we decided to consciously develop other aspects and fields of
cooperation and thus provide added ballast to these
relations. Then, when and if disturbances were to occur, caused by
differences or problems, which will inevitably crop up
between neighbors from time to time, the added weight and enhanced
interest developed in a variety of other aspects and
fields would be strong and diversified enough to overcome those temporary
shocks. I believe that this approach is as valid
and viable today as it proved to be then.
As may be recalled, through this approach both sides consciously and
actively developed and agreed on a number of accords and
cooperative endeavors in various fields, in trade, communications,
tourism, science and technology etc. The
Australia-Indonesia Institute was established. Many outstanding issues
were resolved such as the delimitation of the sea
boundary and the Exclusive Economic Zone.
Agreement was also reached on the establishment of the Indonesia-Australia
Ministerial Forum, which is still regularly
meeting up until today. Two agreements which drew rather wide publicity at
the time but which now have been either superseded
by events or abrogated are the Agreement on the Timor Gap Zone of
Cooperation and the Agreement on Security Cooperation.
Moving to the regional and international context, Australia and Indonesia
can in fact take pride in having established a long
record of constructive cooperation which have yielded achievements on such
issues as the Cambodian peace negotiations, the
establishment of APEC and on various international security and
disarmament questions.
More recently, there has been significant and productive cooperation
between the two countries in such issues as combating
people smuggling, money laundering and international terrorism. The
present Australian Government's increasing recognition of
the importance of regional associations, as evidenced by its accession to
the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation and its
participation in the East Asia Summit, is clearly appreciated by Indonesia.
However, there are still a number of irritants in the bilateral
relationship within the regional/international context: PM
Howard's claim that Australia had the right to make preemptive strikes
against terrorists in other countries; Australia's
declaration of a 1000-mile Australian Maritime Identification Zone,
covering a large area of Indonesian territorial waters;
continuing differences in the political/ideological approach toward the
fight against terrorism (despite close security
forces cooperation), as especially illustrated in the Ba'asyir case, and
the still widespread suspicions in Indonesia about
Australia's intentions with regard to Papua are examples of potential
friction points.
For a considerable time to come, Indonesian-Australian relations will
continue to be colored by two sensitive triangular
relationships: The Indonesia-Timor Leste-Australia and the Indonesia-Papua
Niugini-Australia triangles. The need here will be
to judiciously manage these two sets of triangular relationships so as to
prevent them from becoming potential sources of new
tensions and frictions. In this context, the recently established South
West Pacific Forum may be helpful in providing a
multilateral venue for frank dialog and cooperation, including in the
political field, and in serving as a mechanism for
preventive diplomacy.
To conclude: there are undeniably differences between our two countries
and people; differences sourced in history, culture,
socio-political systems and levels of economic development. But this is
not unique to Indonesian-Australian relations, it
does not apply only to Indonesian-Australian relations. Indonesia and
Australia have relations with scores of other nations,
where the same basic differences apply, yet no similar "brittleness" in
the relationship is to be found. So, maybe there are
other causes we should look for. Is it geographical proximity that tends
to sharpen sensitivities? Is there a built-in bias
in the perceptions of some segments of our respective societies?
Whatever the case may be, it seems clear that apart from the obvious
long-term need to enhance better mutual understanding
and appreciation of our cultural differences, there is, in the shorter
term, clearly the need to free ourselves from
unfounded and unnecessary suspicions, prejudice and preconceived notions,
to consciously develop greater mutual tolerance and
sensitivity toward one another's aspirations, doubts and cultural values
and to develop a greater sense of proportionality
and objectivity in viewing, appraising and reporting on our respective
conditions.
There must also be greater awareness and determination, on the part of our
governments and on the part of our societies, not
to allow the misguided and biased views of a minority, however vocal, to
negatively affect the feelings and views of the
majority. "Let us not allow one drop of vinegar to spoil the entire bowl
of milk".
The article was based on a speech made by former foreign minister Ali
Alatas at the launching of a book entitled Different
Societies, Shared Futures: Australia, Indonesia and the Region at the
Centre for Strategic and Indonesian Studies on Tuesday.
---
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/bulletins/rnzi/200607061541/3866fe3
A Papuan separatist leader has called for international help in the face
of what he calls genocide in the Indonesian
province.
The Kotega Tribal Chairman, Benny Wenda, also claims that Indonesia could
wipe out the Melanesian people of Papua within a
generation.
Mr Wenda was speaking after he delivered a petition containing 7-hundred
and 30 signatures to the office of the British Prime
Minister in London this week.
"We know that Indonesia committed crimes against humanity in West
Papua. We're now calling it genocide. So, people who
love human beings, please help. Because, in almost 25 years or 50 years,
my people will disappear from this earth."
The British All-Party Parliamentary Group on West Papua had earlier called
for an EU fact-finding mission to Papua, and for
it to include Amnesty International, other human rights groups, and
foreign journalists.
There has been no response from the Indonesian Embassy in London to Mr
Wenda's claims.
---
Australian Financial Review
Thursday, July 6, 2006
Indonesia relations take positive step
Morgan Mellish, Jakarta
Indonesia's Trade Minister Mari Pangestu will visit Australia next
month to meet her counterpart Mark Vaile in a sign relations with
Indonesia are back on track.
Dr Pangestu said yesterday she would discuss a new bilateral
investment forum that aims to help resolve disputes and increase the
two nation's $6.7 billion worth of annual trade.
"The main agenda will be to begin to implement the trade and
investment framework that we agreed on back in November," Dr Pangestu
said.
"What's different about this framework compared to the past is that
it's a comprehensive framework that tries to do two things. First, it
addresses issues and disputes we may have under one particular working
group.
"Second, it pursues all the other potential trade and investment
opportunities in another series of working groups, including goods as
well as services."
Dr Pangestu cancelled a planned visit to Australia in April at the
height of a diplomatic dispute over Australia's decision to grant
asylum to a group of refugees from the Indonesian province of West
Papua.
However, after high level meetings between the two countries last week
aimed at healing the rift, Dr Pangestu said she hoped her visit would
lead to increased business ties.
"What we hope to do is use this framework to increase trade and
investment between Australia and Indonesia," she said.
"We have also initiated an expert non-government working group that
will study issues and potential for increasing trade and investment."
One issue likely to be on the agenda is Indonesia's tariffs on luxury
cars. Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane said last week he was pushing
for improved access to Indonesia for Australia's automotive industry.
"Indonesia has a wide range of tariffs relating to luxury cars that
relate to the capacity of their engines, not necessarily the value of
the vehicles," Mr Macfarlane said.
"That disadvantages Australia in terms of the smaller engine versions
coming out of Japan and Europe. So we'd look to the opportunity to
work our way through that."
---
News release United Nations Development Programme and the Royal
Netherlands Embassy, Jakarta
Electronic versions of the News Releases UNDP www.undp.org - Royal
Netherlands Embassy, Jakarta www.netherlandsembassy.or.id
Netherlands Funds Contribution to MDGs Implementation in Papua and West
Irian Jaya
JAKARTA, INDONESIA (5 July 2006) - The Royal Netherlands Embassy and the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in the presence of the
Government of Indonesia, today signed an agreement to support the Papua
Development Programme. This five-year initiative will support the
achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the Indonesian
provinces Papua and West Irian Jaya. The Government of the Netherlands
will contribute a grant support of US$8 million to the programme,
supported by UNDP and GOI.
The MDGs are the world's time-bound and quantified targets for addressing
extreme poverty by the year 2015. They emerged from the Millennium
Declaration to which Indonesia became one of the 189 signatory nations in
September of 2000. The goals encompass development concerns of poverty,
education, gender, healthcare, HIV/AIDS prevention and environmental
sustainability.
Through the Papua Development Programme, the UNDP and the GoI will support
and develop capacities of local government and civil society in Papua and
West Irian Jaya through four components: improved planning of development
policy; increasing the delivery of public services; monitoring and
evaluation of development programmes and the coordination of donor
support. The programme is expected to improve MDGs on health, education
and livelihood services for the population.
The Papua Development Programme is developed based on a 2 year
comprehensive Papua Needs Assessment, conducted by UNDP in collaboration
with GOI and local civil society. The study included analysis of previous
and ongoing development assistance, to derive lessons learned from past
success and failures. The results have been used as a guide to preparing
Papua's long term development plan and serve as the primary foundation for
the Papua Development Program.
The signing ceremony today was attended by Dr. Nikolaos van Dam,
Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Indonesia, Mr. Bo Asplund,
UNDP Resident Representative and GOI officials.
"Papua and West Irian Jaya are one of the earth's most special and diverse
regions, rich in abundant natural resources, but still behind on human
development and therefore worth a concerted MDGs investment", said Mr.
Asplund. "We expect the programme to contribute to sustainable development
and support civil society and the local government to improve service
delivery, especially in health and education, under the framework of the
Republic of Indonesia", Dr. van Dam said.
---
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20060707.G04&irec=3
Papua shooting suspects want trial in Timika
Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura
Seven suspects set to stand trial over the killing of two American
teachers and their Indonesian colleague in Timika, Papua province have
refused to stand trial in Jakarta, their lawyer said Thursday.
They were scheduled for the first hearing at the Central Jakarta District
Court on Tuesday but declined to attend, sending a letter to their lawyer
not to appear in court.
"They are refusing to attend the trial on the grounds that they want to be
tried in Timika, the site of the incident," said their lawyer, Johnson
Panjaitan, on Thursday.
He said he had received an invitation from the court to attend Tuesday's
trial along with a copy of the indictment. "But I didn't attend the court
proceedings as per my clients' request," he said.
In cooperation with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the
police arrested 12 Papuans, including Anthonius Wamang, who was indicted
by a U.S. grand jury in 2004 for the killings. Five were later released.
The seven suspects, including Wamang, have officially been named suspects.
They were flown to Jakarta and were set to stand trial Tuesday for the
ownership of illegal arms and actions resulting in death.
Johnson said he found the relocation of the trial from Timika District
Court to Jakarta unreasonable.
He said the transfer was made following an order from the Supreme Court
chief justice in February 2006.
"The Supreme Court has no right to move the trial, it's the justice
minister who has the authority to do so based on a proposal from the
Supreme Court chief as stipulated in the Criminal Code," he asserted.
Johnson said he had not seen any instruction from the justice minister to
move the trial venue.
"So there's no reason for holding the trial in Jakarta," he said, adding
that the move would not guarantee justice for the Papuans.
He said the trial was moved to Jakarta due to security concerns,
especially the security of 12 American witnesses.
"I've coordinated with community and religious leaders to help ensure
security if the trial is conducted in Timika," he said.
Meanwhile, director of the Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy
for West Papua (Els-Ham), Alloysius Renwarin, said the Amungme tribe, led
by Papuan feminist Yosepha Alomang who is also an Amungme tribal leader,
had asked the Timika District Court to let the seven suspects be tried in
Timika.
National Police chief Gen. Sutanto said previously the 2002 killing of an
Indonesian and two American teachers in Papua were caused by local
separatist soldiers firing at civilians by mistake, saying there was no
evidence the Indonesian Military (TNI) had been involved, despite the
claims of activists here and abroad.
The incident led to strained ties between Indonesia and the United States,
with the U.S. Congress cutting off assistance to the TNI in 2003 amid
suspicions of the involvement of some of its members.
The January arrests came after Washington restored military ties in
November 2005 as a reward for Indonesia's assistance in the U.S.-led war
on terrorism.
---
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